Northvolt announced Tuesday that it intends to slow down its international development plan in order to focus its efforts on its “gigafactory” in northern Sweden. This decision could lead to a revision of the timetable for its project in Quebec, supported and financed by the governments of Quebec and Canada.
“In the current situation, we are looking to focus more on our core business. In order to move forward in Germany and Montreal, it is essential that Skellefteå is the mother plant on which the plan is based,” said the company’s CEO Peter Carlsson in an interview with the business daily. Days Industry.
“Now that we have fallen behind schedule, we need to review the next steps and that is what we are working on right now,” he added. Carlsson would not give a new development timetable, referring to a strategic review in September. “We have been a bit too aggressive in our expansion plan and that is what we are reviewing.”
In Sweden, battery cell production at its giant plant in northern Sweden will reach full first-phase capacity in 2026, compared to 2023 initially, Northvolt’s boss explains.
“Next year, all production lines should be ready for production, but depending on the ramp-up of customer programs and the development of capacity, we will produce a handful of gigawatts in 2025 and in 2026 we will reach full capacity utilization and then we will also achieve profitability in Skellefteå,” he says.
Northvolt has a giant factory project in northern Germany, representing several billion euros of investment, and another in Quebec. The Swedish group also has another factory project in Gothenburg.
Change in Quebec?
Could Mr. Carlsson’s announcement change the plans for the plant to be built in Montérégie? “Construction is continuing. As for the project timelines, these will be among the elements that will be part of the strategic review of activities. For the moment, it is too early to decide on the decision that will be made in this regard,” Northvolt indicated Tuesday in a written response to questions from the Duty.
“There is no denying that we are facing significant pressure from our customers to fulfill our order book commitments as quickly as possible. This is why we have set ambitious goals for our expansion projects,” added Laurent Therrien, Director of Public Affairs and Communications for Northvolt in North America.
“It is equally important for us to deliver each project with rigor and success. In this context, and in consultation with the board of directors, we are currently conducting a strategic review of our activities. This is a healthy practice that leads to better projects,” he emphasized.
To justify exempting Northvolt from the environmental procedure that applies to all major industrial projects in Quebec, the Legault government argued that the delays in this assessment would have driven the company away.
Since it filed its first application for authorization in September 2023, the company has notably been able to destroy dozens of wetlands present on the site of its future factory, but also to cut down several thousand trees. It also recently received authorization to build the first buildings of the industrial complex, as well as a stormwater management system on this site which still contains contaminated soil.
Northvolt currently plans to produce its first battery cells in 2026 and the recycling plant could come online in 2027.
Security
The auto industry is facing slower growth in demand for electric vehicles and, at the same time, increasingly fierce competition, which is having an impact on battery plant plans.
The Swedish group also denies having wanted to expand too quickly, to the detriment of safety. The Swedish police are investigating a possible link between three deaths of people who were employed at the battery manufacturer’s first site. “The idea that it would be dangerous to work at Northvolt seems completely foreign to me. I am convinced that we are a safe and secure place to work,” says the group’s boss.
Northvolt is one of Europe’s great hopes in terms of batteries at a time when the Old Continent is trying to catch up with the Asian and American giants.
With Agence France-Presse